This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme thatI have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Somemessages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday.

This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium.These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org

I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do withseperate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimesextraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs wereremoved to save space and remove clutter.

The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. Imake no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by theindividual authors.

Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written thesemessages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at thistime. If information is published from these messages, please givecredit to the orignator(s).

Brendt Hess (brendt.hess@nwcs.org) wrote:: If anyone would like to add to this list, I will gladly keep it, an: publish it here after a time. In addition, if any would care to write: a few paragraphs on the fallacy, we could collect those as well and use: them to put together a T.I. Article / a Creative Anachronist / a booklet: for newcomers (and schools!) that would help stop the spread of the: fallacies.

600 CE: Earliest cast iron, in China Printing of books, in China First Church bell, in Rome Development of the Crwth in Wales Caliph Uthman sets the form of al Quran (Koran) Petroleum used in Japan Isadore of Seville "originum sive etymologiarium libri XX" Porcelain in China Cotton clothing introduced in Islam

700 CE: Papermaking introduced into Near East from China Stirrup introduced into Western Europe from Asia "Mouldboard" plow introduced into Western Europe by Slavs "Three-field" soil rotation introduced in Western Europe Irish and Anglo-Saxon missionaries on continent First Arab coinage Water mills Feudalisim begins Abu Masa Dshaffar First printed newspaper (China)

800 CE: Earliest documented Church Organ, Aachen, Germany Adoption of horse collar in Western Europe (from China?) Commas, periods, colons and semi-colons appear in texts "Anno Domine" (A.D.) dating system begins to be used Muslim culture enters Europe Music cultivated in the monasteries "The Utrecht Psalter" Bragi Roses in Europe The "Almagest"

850 CE: Crossbow in use "Elder Edda" Danelaw Candle clocks Famine in Western Europe Honain ibn Iszhak "Musica enchiriadis;" first work on polyphony

900 CE: Earliest documented use of windmills, in Near East Earliest application of water power to industry Table forks used in Byzantium Vikings discover Iceland Arabic musical instruments introduced into Europe; development of the Lute, kettledrum and trumpet Tropes and sequences Rise of Castles

1100 CE: Earliest manufacture of paper in Europe, by Muslims in Spain Soap Use of the crossbow forbidden against Christians by the Church Mined coal supplements use of charcoal as fuel Umar Kahyyam Oldest European paper document Investiture of Geoffrey Plantagenet with Arms; first known use of true Heraldry St. Marital organum Gondolas in Venice Ibn Ezra Middle English "Roman d'Alexandre" "Roman de Thebes" "Roman d'Eneas" "Roman de Troie" Islamic science declines Miracle plays Playing cards (China) First Scots coins Maimonides

1300 CE: First large scale production of paper in Europe, in Italy and Germany First large scale production of gunpowder in Europe First use of the word "Peer" in England Mass of Tournai First use of cannon Earliest cast-iron in Europe Table forks in use in Europe Title of "Duke" introduced in England "Ars Nova" Decline of true feudalisim Avignon Exile of the Papacy "Aucassin et Nicolette" Giotto Dante "The Divine Comedy" "Roman de Fauvel" First French "Operette" Motets The Zohar First toll roads in England Glass mirrors First Sequins coined "Lohengrin" Lyons silk industry developed Hafiz Noh drama in Japan develops Pedal organ Sawmills Sternpost rudders on ships Tyl Eulenspiegel Billiards

1350 CE: Black Death in Europe Rise of mercenaries Guillaume de Machaut "Mass of Notre Dame" Economic and agricultural depression in Europe Bocaccio "The Decameron" William Langland "The Vision of Piers Plowman" Wycliffe translates the Bible into English Wycliffe "de civili dominio" Chaucer "The Canterbury Tales" The Pope gives the Church jurisdiction over accusations of sorcery Danse Macabre Ankor Wat (Kampuchea) deserted High point of manuscript illumination Open-air tennis popular in England Clavichord and Cembalo Riding sidesaddle for women enters England First Francs coined Steel-prodded crossbows Playing cards in Germany

1400 CE: Gutenberg invents use of movable type for printing Sewing machines (?) Earliest account of the sea-quadrant Hand-held guns become a factor in warfare Rise of the Duchy of Burgundy Social dance of mixed pairs "Tres Riches Heures" of the Duc de Berry Thomas a Kempis "The Imitation of Christ" "White notation" introduced in England Beginnings of chemical technology Alchemy becomes a swindler's paradise Giovanni da Prato "Paradiso degli Alberti" Ghiberti "Gates of Paradise" Jan and Hubert Van Eyck "The Ghent Altarpiece" Donatello "David" Meistersingers in Germany Vatican Library Humanisim Publication of the "Reformation of Kaiser Sigsimund" Drift nets in use in Holland The Double-Eagle becomes the emblem of the Holy Roman Empire Slave trade from Africa Coffee exported from Mocha, Arabia

1450 CE: Development of serpentine-lock for firearms Intaglio "Donation of Constantine" proved a forgery The "capitiulum," or paragraph mark, appears in texts Fouquet "Book of Hours of Etienne Chevalier" Bamburgh Castle: first English fortress taken by cannon Lochamer "Liederbuch" William Caxton sets up print shop in England Cornazzano "Libro dell'arte del danzare" Mazarin Bible printed by Gutenberg First Doctor of Music degree awarded at Oxford Botticelli "La Primavera" James Obrecht Regiomontanus "De triangulis" Jami Sir Thomas Mallory "Morte d'Arthur" Unification of Spain (1492) Hieronymus Bosch "Temptation of St. Anthony" Leonardo da Vinci "Last Supper" Franchino Gafori "Practica Musicae" Ottaviano dei Petrucci prints first complete song collections from movable type French Royal mail service Origin of the handgun Football, golf and bowling in England and Scotland Beginning of Ballet The expressions "million," "billion," and "zero" come into use The symbols "plus" (+) and "minus" (-) come into use First pawnshops Secular censorship of books First manual of navigation Quadrant Savonarola's followers destroy most Greek & Roman painting Five-course "guitar"

1550 CE: Development of the miquelet-lock for firearms "Ralph Roister-Doister" Game of Curling, in Scotland Beginnings of the use of the "belted plaid" in Scotland Aldus Manutius, Venetian publisher, codifies puctuation marks The compound microscope Chittarra Battente Peter Breughel the Elder "The Wedding Dance" Palestrina William Byrd Thomas Tallis Tintoretto "Ascension of Christ" Montaigne "Essays" Marlowe "Doctor Faustus" Byrd "Songs of Sundrie Natures" Edmund Spencer "The Faerie Queen" Tintoretto "The Last Supper" Wm. Shakespeare "Romeo and Juliet" John Dowland "First Book of Songs or Ayres" Development of the present day violin Billiards Cricket Tobacco in Europe Snuff-taking spreads Modern chess Tulips in Europe Index Librorum Prohibitorum Milled coins in England Sweet potatoes and tobacco in England Newspapers Cane-sugar Sedan-chairs in general use in England Italian cooking predominates in Europe Shorthand Giovanni Gabrieli "Sacrae Symphonie" "Sonata Pian'e Forte" First knitting machine Pompeii discovered Potatoes grown in Spain and Italy Tomatoes in England First "W.C.'s" in England Approximate end of Feudalisim, rise of sovereign states Siege of Sancerre (last military use of sling) "Divine Right" of Kings First field hospitals Chocolate popular in Spain Potatoes reach England Arbeau "Orchesographie" Persecution of Japanese Christians